Attn: Michiganders & other thinking Americans

Just when you thought that it was safe to have a Conyers in an elected position, congressman John Conyers gave us this according to CNS News:

During his speech at a National Press Club luncheon, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), questioned the point of lawmakers reading the health care bill.

“I love these members, they get up and say, ‘Read the bill,’” said Conyers.

“What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?”

Full story with video here.

Now you may call me old fashioned but somehow I was under the impression that our representatives were sent to congress to enact legislation on our behalf. In my estimation that would infer that they knew exactly what they were voting on BEFORE actually voting on a piece of legislation. The job that we pay them for is to read the legislation and, if necessary, take a few days with lawyers to ensure that what they are voting on is appropriate not only for their nation but more importantly for their constituents.

Unfortunately I do not have the opportunity to vote for or against Mr. Conyers. I would suggest that those who are his constituents ask him precisely what he sees his job as being and if he feels if what he is doing is for their betterment. Representative Conyers can be contacted on his web page. Take a few minutes, let him know how you feel.

Hyphenation

Let me start by saying that I have no issue with people who hyphenate their names. My wife does it, all while claiming that using my name is so very difficult. So you hyphenate it? It seems to me that some people seem to be comforted, as in part of their being comes from being hyphenated.

What really concerns me is all of these people who hyphenate being American. I am of German, Irish and Swedish heritage and I am very proud of my lineage but I am not a hyphenated American. I was born and raised here in the U.S.A. and though I have lived in Germany for a short period I am not a German-American. There are people who can rightly call themselves XXX-Americans. These are people who have emigrated to the US from elsewhere. If you were born here you are not an XXX-American, you are a plain old fashioned American. You can be of Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Irish, African, Egyptian, Lebanese, Japanese, Chinese or whatever heritage but if you were born here you are not XXX-American.

We have enough issues these days that separate us from each other. Everything from religion, to politics, to skin color to you name it seems to be something that will keep people apart. This absurd reliance on being an XXX-American should not be on the list.

Attention Congress... BOTH houses

Now that we have bills in both houses to address health care reform I'd like to take a minute or two to address the idiocy that is inherent in both of these absurd pieces of legislation. Let's first take a look at whether or not any member of either house has the potential to actually understand exactly what they are voting on BEFORE they actually vote on it.
In the case of the house bill, roughly 1,015 pages in length, I don't even believe that the authors of this legislation understand exactly what they are doing. When we add in the fact that they are laying the majority of the "funding" of this legislation at the feet of those who create the most jobs, in the middle of a recession, we see where this can do absolutely nothing but destroy a fragile job market and add more people to the dole by forcing small and mid-level employers to either lay off or completely release employees. Well done house. (NOT!)
Now lets take a look at the 600+ pages of legislation coming out of the Senate. In their infinite wisdom our great legislators have decided to put the majority of the funding on the insurance companies. For some reason it has completely escaped our esteemed Senators that the insurance companies will not be willing to just eat this sugar-coated pill but will pass the additional costs on to the consumers. Of course they will probably say that the companies can't do that and that if they do they will face harsh penalties. If that happens they will be forcing many of these companies out of business, but that is obviously unimportant to those knights on the hill. That would again force more people on to the public dole since their insurers no longer exist. The truly wonderful idea is that both houses are forcing this tripe through with no input from the Republicans because, after all, "they are just the minority party after all and their ideas can't be that good or they would be in the majority."
Perhaps what the blithering idiots in Washington really do want is to force us all onto the public dole. That way they could more readily force people to act and think in a manner that they would find more appropriate. Want that cheeseburger, what about a Coke or Pepsi? Candy bar, anyone? Better make sure that you're willing to either pay extra for your health insurance or extra taxes to cover your inappropriate eating habits. Once that camel gets it's nose in the tent how long will it take for them to tell us what an appropriate hobby will be for you? How about how many hours of TV or internet use you are allowed per day?
It is time for all of us to wake up and remind these morons that they work for us, not the other way around, and that if they want to keep their jobs it is time for them to listen to us.